Topic: Bloober Executive Says "Don't Blame Wii" For Poor Sales

[NWR_pap64]

Developer refutes recent comments regarding core games not doing well on Wii.
 http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/newsArt.cfm?artid=20778

 Bloober Team Executive Marcin Kawa refutes Capcom's recent comments about core titles not being strong performers on the Wii, stating in a candid manner that "Only bad Wii games sell badly". He elaborates further by saying that "With such a strong install base it's hard to believe that there's not enough people to appreciate mature, core content".    

Kawa's theory is that quality is what determines a title's overall financial success. "It's all about games and quality. I'm not surprised that another shooter on rails doesn't sell well. You don't need to be a rocket scientist to figure out that people expect something more than that."    

He expects titles like No More Heroes 2, Monster Hunter 3 and Metroid: Other M to be successful because of their quality. Kawa concludes this statement by saying that "Instead of bitching we'd rather create something that has value and doesn't feel like a third-rate port put together to make a quick buck."    

Bloober Team's first WiiWare title is Last Flight, a horror action game that takes place inside of a plane. When asked about the game's success with the Wii's audience, Kawa simply comments that "Our logic is far simpler: if the game doesn't sell, we did something wrong."    

Kawa believes that there is indeed an audience for mature rated titles on Wii.

[BlackNMild2k1]

If only he had mentioned advertising/marketing then I would give this man a gold star.
but he has only earned a silver star for recognizing that we Wii owners expect more than another late port or another on-rails shooter (that can't even be played like a light gun game when it was obviously designed like one).

[NWR_Lindy]

His game had better be good, or he's going to look a little foolish.

[BlackNMild2k1]

Not really. He'll just recognize that they did something wrong, like no advertising so that we are aware of his game, unless he made these statements as a way of advertising his game.

[Stratos]

His game looks promising, but I'm concerned that the small WiiWare size will hamper it's quality.

His game had better be good, or he's going to look a little foolish.

I would argue the contrary. As Kawa said, "If the game doesn't sell, we did something wrong". It sounds like he is willing to accept his mistakes. I think it's all based on how he handles the fallout if his title crashes and burns. He didn't claim that his game would be amazing, he said quality games in general will sell better.

Either way, how different is this from us forum members and you journalists talking about how Capcom or EA or Sega need to make better than average titles to make good sales on Wii?

[NinGurl69 *huggles]

That's another thing... In this competitive business of INTERACTIVE TV PICTURES, why create products that you're unable to market effectively?  Do you not understand your own product's appeal (and what appeals to buyers)?  Do you even care about your product's appeal and communicating it (and not just ship/sales numbers on spreadsheets)?

Crapcom
EA
Ubi
Activision
THQ

If Nintendo raises the bar, 3rd parties go under it more easily (and some just crash into the bar).  IS THIS HOW IT'S SUPPOSED TO WORK?

[TJ Spyke]

For the most part I agree with him. However, it is not true that only bad games sell badly (take Psychonauts for example). It's the same way that good movies sometimes bomb, good TV shows sometimes have bad ratings, and good CD's sell sometimes sell badly.

[Stratos]

Though i find quality products that sell poorly (Psychonauts, Zach and Wiki) flop because they are just too nich for their own good. Sure, maybe a better title or marketing campaign could have helped some of that but if a game's appeal is too niche, then it doesn't matter how good it is, the game will just not catch many people's attention.

[Chozo Ghost]

Finally, there's a 3rd party executive that gets it.

[Jonnyboy117]

Although I agree with the guy, he has no credibility until he can distance himself from Nibris by actually shipping a game.

[BlackNMild2k1]

Speaking of Nibris.....

How is Sadness coming along? Does anyone know? Has is been delayed till WiiHD?
what about Raid over the River?

[NWR_pap64]

Not a word from Nibris about Sadness... I already declared it dead in the water years ago.

[TJ Spyke]

Speaking of Nibris.....

How is Sadness coming along? Does anyone know? Has is been delayed till WiiHD?
what about Raid over the River?

Not that it matters because the game is vaporware (along with Sadness), but the games name was officially changed to just "ROTR" a couple of years ago. "Sadness" looks very interesting, too bad I doubt it will ever come out. I don't think we have even seen screenshots since 2007.

[Mop it up]

If it's all about quality, does anybody care to explain to me how Game Party became a multi-million seller?

[D_Average]

"Only bad Wii games sell badly"

Terrible logic. This guy needs to shut his mouth and buy Zack and Wikki. The market just isn't that black and white.   

[KDR_11k]

Z&W was bad at appealing to people.

[Urkel]

I'll say it again.
 
The Wii is the only platform ever that third party games are expected to sell with no advertising.

[Chozo Ghost]

"Only bad Wii games sell badly"

Terrible logic. This guy needs to shut his mouth and buy Zack and Wikki. The market just isn't that black and white.   

Z&W is a point and click adventure. For its genre it is a good game, but that genre doesn't appeal to everyone. So whether Z&W is a great game or not is entirely a matter of opinion. For the record, I do think it didn't get the sales it deserved, but I wouldn't call it an A+ title by any means.

[KDR_11k]

I think P&C isn't THAT niche but fewer people play them on consoles than PCs and Z&W had a very quirky theme (I'm talking about the anime look) that most of the people in the West don't like.

[Plugabugz]

That's another thing... In this competitive business of INTERACTIVE TV PICTURES, why create products that you're unable to market effectively?  Do you not understand your own product's appeal (and what appeals to buyers)?  Do you even care about your product's appeal and communicating it (and not just ship/sales numbers on spreadsheets)?

Crapcom
EA
Ubi
Activision
THQ

If Nintendo raises the bar, 3rd parties go under it more easily (and some just crash into the bar).  IS THIS HOW IT'S SUPPOSED TO WORK?

So what should publishers/developers do? Make games based on their marketability? How easily you can portray it?

[broodwars]

Well, I hope he's right.  Might as well hope for the best, I guess.  Still, it's not like we haven't seen good 3rd party games fail to sell (Zack & Wiki, Okami, A Boy & His Blob, Silent Hill: Shattered Memories).

[KDR_11k]

Er, how can you declare SH:SM a failure already? The weekly sales VGChartz lists are a bit better than those of the individual versions of SH:Homecoming and way better than SH:Origins.

[broodwars]

Er, how can you declare SH:SM a failure already?

I was listening to a recent podcast (I believe either Big Red Potion or Giant Bombcast) and one of the panelists commented that he might have seen some of the sales data on it and it wasn't promising.  In any case, it's a somewhat niche 3rd party Wii game released just before Christmas with no marketing.  It would take a miracle these days for such a game to actually sell well.  Hey, here's hoping, though.  It certainly deserves to sell well.

[TJ Spyke]

The weekly sales VGChartz lists

There's your problem, you're citing a website that pull their numbers out of their ass. I could make up a number too and it would be just as accurate as any from VG Chartz.

[D_Average]

Zack and Wikki is just one example. The list of great Wii games that sold poorly is so long this man should just give up on life for mumbling such nonsense.